industrial geography

(geography) A branch of geography that deals with location, raw materials, products, and distribution, as influenced by geography.

The study of the spatial arrangement of manufacturing industry. Manufacturing industry is specifically chosen for this definition since, it is argued, it is the basis upon which regional economies are built. Explanations of industrial patterns may be based on location theory and on models with costs as the predominant locational factor. Other approaches are concerned with the nature of decision-making, and an understanding of change; where and why some regions grow while others, like inner cities and depressed areas, decline. Strategies may then be suggested to aid ailing industrial areas and underdeveloped countries.